


Neighbouring Cells

by coolcattime



Series: Mianite Oneshots [1]
Category: Mianite - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Realm of Mianite - Fandom
Genre: False Accusations, Gen, Imprisonment, Wrongful Imprisonment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:01:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23693563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolcattime/pseuds/coolcattime
Summary: Capsize knew she couldn't keep running forever so when she's caught by bounty hunters and thrown in a cell she's more annoyed than scared about her implementing fate. Through the walls, she's surprised to talk to someone who doesn't know about the crimes she's been accused of.
Series: Mianite Oneshots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1706272
Kudos: 13





	Neighbouring Cells

Capsize.

I groan as I’m thrown into the make-shift cell, landing uncomfortably on one of my arms. I whip around in time to see the bounty hunter smirk. He laughs as he slams the door, locking it in a way I’m sure is somehow louder than it should be. They just to be smug about this whole situation, don’t they? Is the ransom they’ll be getting not enough? Gods, how do I get myself into this situation? I hear some banging on the door, a laugh breaking through from the man who threw me in here.

“Enjoy your stay, Captain Capsize. You won’t be escaping from here,” He laughs through the door before I hear his footsteps moving away. I let out a sigh, partly in relief but also partly just out of tiredness. Honestly, the taunting is somehow the worst part of this situation and given what I’ve been arrested for that’s a high bar. I just don’t understand why they’re acting like they have anything personal against me, they’re doing this for the money. Yet, of course, they’re still going to act like they have the moral high ground. I suppose, had I actually done what I’ve been accused of, they would. Hopefully, they’ll only be near the cell a few times before I’m picked up by actual guards. I don’t think I’ll be able to stand them annoying me for long periods.

I look around the cell. It’s certainly not the worst place I’ve been in, definitely the most secure cell from ransom hunters I’ve been in. For one thing, it looks like they’ve actually put effort into making it a cell, with a metal door and no window I can kick through. I don’t like being stuck in here. The only furniture is a bench with a blanket thrown on it which is, technically, better than nothing. Though, the main thing sticking out to me is that isn’t a place I’ll be escaping from by myself. I suppose I had to get caught properly eventually.

“Hey, are you alright?” I jump as I hear an unexpected voice, turning in the direction it came from to try and confirm that I’m not just hearing things. I must have injured my ankle at some point as I put a bit too much of my weight on it and feel a piercing pain. It’s enough to make me to gasp in shock and almost lose my balance. At the very least, I should have time to rest up here, even if it really won’t matter. “Shit, I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m in the other cell. The wall between us is sort of thin and I thought you might want to talk. It’s okay if you don’t want to, though.”

“No, it’s fine. I just didn’t expect to hear a friendly voice here,” I don’t recognise the voice, though I believe I’m talking to a man. In a way I’m glad for that. I’ve been lacking in friends lately so recognising them probably would’ve been worse than not doing so. Maybe I can have a friend for the short amount of time that I’ll be here. It could make the experience a tad more pleasant. “Then again, I didn’t expect to be thrown in a cell today so I’m clearly not good at guessing. So, what’s your name, unless you want to remain mysterious.”

“I’m Jordan,” I hear him laugh as I move to sit against the wall we’re talking through. I’m glad for the conversation, despite the circumstances, as it’s been so long since I’ve been able to just talk with someone. Being on the run doesn’t leave much time for it. It isn’t the worst thing I could spend a few days doing. “They caught me about a week ago doing some magic and have decided that I’m a witch. I have no idea if that’s actually something they’ll be able to make money from but they certainly think it is. And what can I call you?”

“You can call me Capsize. The bastard wasn’t making something up when he called me that,” I wait for a moment to see if he has any reaction, to see if he recognises my name when I say it. I’m slightly scared that he will, that he’ll have heard what I’ve been accused of, but luckily, he doesn’t seem to have done. Good, I’m fed up of people who have seen the wanted posters and just assume I’ve done everything I’ve been accused of. The only person who always believed that I was innocent is Red and I’m pretty sure that’s just because he’s my brother. Unfortunately, his belief in my innocence managed to get him arrested too. “As for crimes, well, I’d like to say piracy because that’s something I’ve actually done but that’s not what it says on the wanted poster.”

“So, there are bounties on you for stuff you haven’t done?” He asks the obvious question, though he at least sounds legitimately curious. Still, I’m hesitant to answer. It’s dumb, he has no reason to not believe me when I say I’m innocent and given that we’re both in cells he can’t exactly judge me. But people I thought I could trust turned on me when they heard, this guy is a stranger. “If it helps, I’m been in and out of cells for the past few months so I’m not exactly in a position to judge you.”

“It’s fine, it’s just most people have just believed that I’m guilty. They say I killed Ianite’s champion.”

“What?!” He yells, immediately followed by a thump and him groaning. Well, that’s one reaction. Honestly, it isn’t that different from my own. Waking up to the news that I had killed a man I had never met, an extremely important man, wasn’t the best way to start a day. It especially wasn’t when I remembered nothing of the night before or most of the day for that matter. If Red hadn’t broken me out of the cell and basically dragged me into an escape route Ianite’s stronghold and capital city, I would’ve just spent the day in a panic, confused as to what had happened. “But I… When did this happen?”

“About three months ago? I haven’t been keeping track very well, but they’ll probably give an exact date when they come to collect me,” I realise how casually I’m talking about something that may well lead to my death but it isn’t like there’s a way to fight it. They caught Red about a month ago if the disappearance of his wanted posters and the fact I never saw him when he was last meant to meet me is anything to go by. That means he isn’t saving me this time. I just hope he’s still alive, as much as that’s a low bar to set. Though I do wonder how Jordan doesn’t know about this, he said that he’s been in and out of cells for a few months but even other prisoners have heard of this. “Have you really not heard of this? You’re maybe the first person I’ve met who hasn’t.”

“I guess that no one bothered to tell me,” He’s hiding something, I know that he is, but I don’t want to push it. I don’t really want to relieve the past few months either. Maybe we can talk about nicer things. It’ll distract me from my impending fate which is something I really don’t want to focus on. But talking about this also doesn’t feel as crushing as I thought it would. Maybe it’s because someone has finally believed me but it feels okay to talk about it for once. “The last major thing I know happened was the ball.”

“That’s where it happened. I don’t really remember why I was invited, it’s all sort of a blur honestly. I barely remember anything that happened, but I woke up in a cell the next day and was told I’d killed him,” I was stuck in a ballgown for days, it also had blood on it which was both bad for my case and generally uncomfortable. I’ve never been more thankful for my normal clothes than when Red had grabbed them after getting me out of the city. I play with the sleeves of my coat; it’s become worn over the past few months which is unfortunate as maybe one of the few things I’ve tried to take good care of. But at least I have it and the sense of comfort it provides. “But talking about what I’ve been accused of is sort of depressing so is there anything else you want to talk about?”

“Of course, do you want to hear the long list of things these idiots think make me a witch in disguise?”

***

Jordan.

I lean my head back on the makeshift bed as I try to process the information I’ve learnt today. The most important piece, and also the most concerning, is that I’m apparently dead which was shocking to learn. Worse, I only have a few days, at most, to figure out a plan. If not the woman accused of killing me is going to be punished for a crime that never happened. And I need to do that while I’m locked in a cell. Somehow, I can already tell that this is going to be difficult since I don’t even know where to start. Though, what exactly happened for everyone to think I’m dead is still a major question to me.

I do remember the ball. It was to celebrate peace within the lands and between the three gods. People from all over were there, and I didn’t actually get to interact with many of them. Yet, I think I did at least see Capsize. There was a pair of pirates, a man and a woman, pointed out to me by Tom, he was practically bouncing with excitement about such an idea. Of course, just like everyone else, they were dressed in formal wear so it was hard to tell if Tom was correct or just assuming because the man was wearing an eye patch. However, since he didn’t come back to me disappointed after talking to them, that woman would be my best guess for who Capsize is. Still, I don’t know how she would’ve been blamed for killing me. I didn’t talk to either of them before I was knocked out and kidnapped. I woke up in someone’s cellar, which was a very temporary holding cell as I was moved to a different building with an actual cell a few days later. Almost as soon as I had woken up, I had been told that no one would be looking for me. I had written it off as a threat but it seems I should’ve questioned that more. Then, when I finally managed to escape, I was jumped by these idiots before I could contact anyone.

“Hey, Mister Witch, are you awake?” I look up towards the window high up on the wall as I hear a voice coming through it. I smile, getting up and pulling myself up to the window ledge to look through the bars at the teenage girl who has climbed up a few crates to get to the window. She’s visited me a few times, though she has no idea who I actually am, as she wanted to meet a real witch but she has been good company. As normal, she seems excited to talk which was a little worrying the first time but she just seems to want to learn about magic. Right now, though, she might be able to help with the task of proving that I’m still alive, and therefore proving Capsize innocent. “Is it true that they found the murderer woman? Everyone’s been saying that they have, but this is the only window so I didn’t think this place had a second cell.”

“She is here, her cell is right next to mine. She said that she didn’t kill anyone though,” I want to figure out her opinion on this before I reveal my own. After all, it’ll be easier to get her to help if I don’t say something she disagrees with. Yet, she nods, leaning forward with an intense look in her eyes.

“Yeah, like the whole thing seemed really weird because she said that she didn’t remember anything about the night of the murder, like at all, and that would be a really weird lie for both her and her brother to use when they could’ve made up something much more believable as they’d have each other to back up the story. I think that everyone just wanted to do this quickly so that the peace was kept up and she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But well, people have told me that it doesn’t really matter anymore because people are going be picking her up soon, one of the other champions is coming and everything,” I freeze as she continues to ramble, apparently having a lot more opinions about this than I would’ve thought. But one of the others are coming, that means all I have to do is get their attention and everything should be okay.

“Hey, if one of the champions is coming here, can you help me with something?” I say when she finishes talking, hoping I didn’t interrupt her halfway through a thought. She nods, a little hesitantly which is reasonable considering she has no idea what the plan is. I reach into my pocket, for once beyond grateful that I managed to keep a hold of the medallion, despite how the magic was drained from it when I woke up kidnapped. The others should recognise it though, which should cause enough questions for them to want to check who I am and therefore see that I’m alive. I pass it through the bars to the girl, who looks at it a little confused. “Give this to the champion and tell that I had it.”

“It isn’t going to hurt them, is it?” She asks, and I can’t blame her for the concern. I mean, if an apparent witch handed me a strange necklace, I’d probably have the same question. This is probably the best chance I’ve got to catch the attention of my friends, other than maybe yelling until I annoy them enough to check on me, so I need to reassure her.

“No, it’s just an old necklace. It used to be magic, but it ran out. I think it’ll mean something to them, though.”

***

Sonja.

I feel a sense of dread as I stand outside the bounty hunter’s base as I know who I’m going to face. I didn’t want to be the one to escort her back, especially not alone, but I understand why I have to. Mianite has been keeping a much closer eye on Tucker since Jordan’s death, which is an improvement on him never being around. Unfortunately, though, it means he refused to let Tucker come to help with this. Then Tom refused to come on the grounds that he doesn’t believe that Capsize is guilty. He’s been getting more insistent about it in the last month, doing his “investigations,” talking to Capsize’s brother, and generally causing arguments. It’s been frustrating, but I have to remind myself this is his way of coping, annoying as it may be.

As I’m mentally preparing myself to face the situation, I feel someone tap me on the shoulder. I whip around, expecting to see one of the soldiers telling me I need to go inside but instead, I see a nervous-looking teenage girl. She’s quite short, with vivid blue hair and is tightly holding something in one of her hands. She looks up at me, shifting a little, and I wonder if she mistook me for someone else.

“Are you the champion who’s come to pick up the woman?” She doesn’t sound nearly as nervous as she looks, though that might be because she doesn’t seem to have much information. Yet she does seem to be asking the question for a reason rather than asking in an attempt to cause trouble.

“Yes, I am. Is there a problem?” She smiles and holds up her hand for me to take the item from it.

“The other person in there, they think that he’s a witch, told me to give you this. He said that it would mean something to you,” I hesitantly take the object from her and she smiles before running off. That makes me a little nervous about what I’ve just taken. But I’ve taken it now, so I examine it. It’s a necklace with a silver medallion, there are clear signs that it used to have infused with magic and there’s a drawing of a scale engraved into the metal. I freeze. I recognise it. This is Jordan’s medallion. I rush inside, pushing past the guards who are currently putting manacles on Capsize, to the bounty hunter standing by two cell doors, one of which remains locked.

“The other person you have here, the witch, I want to see him,” I must sound insane, I know I must because I hear the guards murmuring and even hear Capsize yell that I can’t arrest everyone she talks to. I need answers, though. Someone this person has gotten a hold of Jordan’s necklace which means he’s involved in this. I don’t know why he would give that girl the necklace and tell her to give it to me, but them to answer some questions. I realise the bounty hunter hasn’t moved, so I snatch the keys from him, ignoring his protests, and unlock the door myself. I’m not letting anyone stop me from doing this. I throw the keys back to him, ignoring his protests that I can’t just enter the cell. I take a breath, then open the door. Nothing could’ve prepared me for what I see upon entering. “Jordan?!”

He sits on the bed at the back of the room, looking slightly stressed but smiling when he sees me. He looks tired and certainly worse for wear but he’s alive, he’s actually alive. I rush over to him, tears threatening to spill as I rush over to him, hugging him tightly. He laughs as he hugs me back. So many questions of what happened to him build in my mind but all I manage to get out is choked sobs.

“So, I heard I died,” He says when I finally let go of him, saying it so casually that I almost laugh. After so long it feels wrong for him to just say something so normally. I almost expect him to disappear. The only thing stopping me from being completely freaked out by his casual speech is that something clearly happened to him. He might not be dead, but he was still missing for three months. Though, I’ll save my questions for how he ended up here until later. “It’s good to see you, Sonja.”

“But you were dead, there was a body,” It seemed so real, it was horrifying to see the scene. If there hadn’t been a body, I would’ve questioned the situation more. However, walking into Jordan’s study to find him dead and another person with bloody clothing and a dagger, it had seemed obvious what happened even if she had been unconscious and claimed to not even remember the ball. My mind jumps as I remember why I’m here in the first place, the sickening revelation hits me. “You’re alive, Capsize didn’t kill you.”

“No, in fact, I hadn’t met her at all until a few days ago,” He stands up, offering me a hand which helps to steady me as I feel extremely sick thinking about this whole situation. As I think of how far it’s gone, how much Capsize insisted she was innocent. Jordan leads me out of the cell, seemingly a lot more in control than I am.

“Hey! We expect a separate bounty for—”

“Lord Jordan!” One of Ianite’s guards cuts off the bounty hunter who suddenly turns pales and falls silent. The bastard will be lucky to keep the bounty we were originally going to pay him. The other guards stare, letting go of Capsize as they do. They know what Jordan being here means. The only person who doesn’t seem to know is Capsize, who stands, manacles on her wrists, just looking confused. With this being the first time I’ve properly looked at her, I notice just how different she looks than she did three months ago. Honestly, she looks exhausted, like she hasn’t had a moment’s rest the whole time. I suppose that she probably hasn’t. Her clothing is clearly worn and damaged, and she seems to have gained a lot of minor injuries. Yet despite everything, she’s still standing confident. Jordan moves closer to hear, the guards not stopping him as I suppose there isn’t a reason to at this point.

“I told you the truth. I didn’t kill Ianite’s champion,” She says, looking at Jordan without realising who she’s talking to. It sends another wave of sickness through me. She doesn’t recognise the person we thought she’d killed. Jordan smiles at her and nods.

“I know, after all, I’m not dead.”

***

Jordan.

The journey back has been quiet, not awkward but just quiet as I rode in the back of a cart with Capsize. It’s covered which is nice as it prevents anyone from seeing the two of us, mostly for Capsize’s sake though I’d be lying if I said I didn’t prefer it myself. It’s just the two of us back here, Sonja insisted on going ahead to attempt to tell everyone else that I’m alive before I arrive back. I had wanted to go with her, to make sure they all believed her. Sonja, however, pointed out that I didn’t have my own horse so I’m stuck on the slower journey. I don’t mind, though, the small amount of conversation I’ve had with Capsize has been nice.

“Do you think they’ll believe her?” Capsize asks, breaking the silence. It’s an odd question since whether or not people believe Sonja, the moment they see me they have to believe that I’m alive. Yet the question seems to be important to her as if she’s asking something different completely. Honestly, she might just be thinking aloud. “I mean, I know it doesn’t really matter but they always assumed I was lying. And if they just believe her then just… was it because I’m not important enough?”

“They shouldn’t have just assumed you were guilty. Even if I had actually been dead, they shouldn’t have just blamed you without considering anyone else,” I know I’m not hiding the anger in my voice. More and more has been clicking in my head about what my kidnappers had said when they weren’t paying attention to me. What was made very clear was that their ‘coverup’ had gone much better than they thought, despite someone apparently making a major mistake with it. While I still don’t know what the mistake was, it’s clear to me now how they covered up my disappearance and it’s someone worse than my theory of someone disguised as me. I also know that their ultimate plan was to disrupt the peace between the three gods. I can honestly see they’d achieve that given how anger I am right now and the fact they would have the power to release me at any time if I hadn’t escaped. “This is all a plan that seems to have worked much too well. We’ve going to need to unravel exactly how this happened.”

“I’ll be happy to investigate exactly how this happened, and who framed me. I think that’s what my brother was doing before they arrested him,” She smiles a little and it’s nice to see her do so. If I could go back, I would talk to her at the ball. Though, thinking about it, that would have probably caused her a lot more trouble. Still, I’d like to get to know her, given the amount of trouble she’s been caused it’s the least I can do.

The cart begins to slow down, and I can hear arguing faintly. I sigh, realising that Sonja must’ve run into some trouble convincing them that I’m not dead. I see Capsize sigh and square her shoulders and I position myself slightly ahead of her. I’m not letting this continue any further. I listen as best as I can to the yelling, attempting to pick out anything that’s being said, but it’s all just overlapping.

“I don’t care! It isn’t dangerous! Either Jordan is in there, or he isn’t and the same goes for Capsize,” I hear Tucker yell over everyone, followed by a lot more yelling. The canvas covering the entrance is ripped open. Tucker stand there, blocking the entrance in a way that means I’d have to knock him over if I wanted to rush out but also means no one outside can see into the cart still. His face quickly turns from annoyance to relief as he looks at me. He looks over to Capsize for a moment but doesn’t have any reaction to her. “Both of you should come out, we’ll see if that shuts them all up.”

He turns, holding the canvas open for the two of us. I move towards the opening, looking back to see if Capsize is following me, which she is, albeit hesitantly. Hopefully, everything goes okay when they see me, if not I’m going to have to come up with a plan on the fly to make sure no one hurts her. There are more people than I expected outside the cart. Other than Tucker and Sonja, there’s also Tom and the three gods, all of whom still seem to be locked in arguments. There’s also a man in manacles being held by two guards. He’s the man Capsize was with at the ball. I presume that he’s her brother, though I have no idea why he’s out here. He also seems to be the only person paying attention to us, as the guards holding him are talking to each other. He locks eyes at his sister, smiling at her.

“Can you all stop arguing and explain to me what’s happened?” I say, raising my voice enough that everyone turns to look at me and turn silent. They all look as if they’ve seen a ghost, which makes sense, I guess. Tom moves first, rushing over and hugging me. He’s crying, muttering under his breath that he knew something was wrong with this whole situation. Watching over his shoulder, I see Capsize go over to her brother, who has been let go of by the guards and hug him. Then Tom lets go, and I see Ianite, staring at me with guilt-ridden eyes. But she doesn’t speak, so I do instead. “I was kidnapped at the ball. I don’t know exactly who did it, but they told me they had the perfect coverup.”

“They framed her,” Ianite says quietly. She looks towards Capsize, who currently appears to be crying as she talks to her brother. I can see the guilt on Ianite’s face, though it certainly doesn’t make me any less angry about this whole situation. I just hope we can figure out exactly what happened and heal some of the damage that this whole situation has caused. And also make sure we catch the people who caused this whole situation.

***

Capsize.

Staying in Ianite’s stronghold had been extremely odd. I mean, I know that leaving would be a bad idea, Red and I still need to recover and this is going to be the best place to figure out who framed me but still, I feel uneasy knowing basically everyone here was perfectly willing to assume I was guilty rather than doing this in the first place. I know some of them didn’t, Red said that Dianite’s champion had been helping him investigate both before and after he was arrested and obvious Jordan never thought I’d killed him. Still, I don’t like being around most other people, it feels awkward.

We have, at least, started figuring out what happened there months ago. Even if currently we only know for sure that Jordan was knocked out quite a while before his “body” was found and I was drugged somehow. It isn’t much, but it’s better than nothing. It’s not like we’ve been investigating for long at least. I’m sure we’ll figure out more soon.

I whip around at a noise near the door, breathing heavily and reaching for the letter opener from the desk before I remind myself that I’m not on the run anymore. I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose. I need to stop doing this. It’s just hard to break out of my old habits. I’ve been better at sleeping at least. I’ve still been having nightmares, but anything is an improvement to the amount of sleep I was getting while on the run. Because I’m safe here, Jordan said I was safe here. The door to the room opens behind me, and I begin to turn when I feel a knife against my throat.

“I’m really sorry about this but please, stay quiet,” The person who I assume is holding the knife against my throat says. They sound a lot less confident than I would’ve imagined considering that they are literally in a position to kill me. For some reason, their voice feels familiar, though I can’t actually place it. Maybe that’s just because my heart is racing too much to focus. How on earth did someone get in here to try and kill me? Is he going to kill me? “I just need to fix this whole mess. This whole situation is far too astray from the plan. If I don’t do something no one will.”

“So, what are you going to do? Kill me?” Their plan is what had me framed for murder and on the run for months. Wanting me dead isn’t too far from that. Though surely, they could’ve already achieved that. Maybe everyone learning that Jordan’s alive is just too much for them to come back from. Still, the question burns in the back of my mind, why me?

“Kill you? Good gods, no. The others would probably like me too, but they’re idiots. I’m going to restore your memories of the ball, which will, unfortunately, put you in a coma for a few days… or weeks. Just think of it as a nap,” Before I can properly react, I feel a pinch in my neck and feel my head start to feel fuzzy in a way that reminds me an uncomfortable amount of what it feels like to attempt to remember the events of the ball. I try to focus on staying awake as being in a coma doesn’t sound like something I want to do. The knife is removed from my neck and, despite my best effort, I stumble and fall. I feel myself get lifted onto the bed, seeing despite my blurring vision I see a man in a robe. “Really, I am sorry about this, but I do also need time to fix some of the other problems my idiot associates have caused because if not, I would’ve done this later. But you know what, the second problem I’ll fix will be dealing with the idiot that poisoned you instead of your brother.”

“What?”

“I probably shouldn’t have said that but don’t worry, everything is going to be fine. Trust me.”

**Author's Note:**

> So this most a oneshot that I wrote while avoiding doing my uni work. I hope you liked it and maybe I'll write a second part at some point.


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